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Ogni anno agli Oscar, l’Academy rende omaggio ai vincitori e ai candidati agli Oscar passati che sono morti dopo l’ultima premiazione. Gli Oscar del 2023 non hanno fatto eccezione. Durante il segmento “Oscars In Memoriam”, sono state premiate star importanti, tra cui il compositore Burt Bacharach, che ha vinto tre Oscar, Irene Cara, famosa per il suo ruolo nel musical “Fame” del 1980, e gli attori Angela Lansbury e Louise Fletcher.
For this year’s Oscars In Memoriam segment, John Travolta — who has had his fair share of loss over the years — was asked to do the introduction. In 1977, Travolta lost his then-girlfriend Diana Hyland to breast cancer. Despite moving on and finding love with Kelly Preston, tragedy struck again when the couple’s 16-year-old son Jett died during a Christmas vacation in 2009. And then, in 2020, Preston, Travolta’s wife of nearly 30 years, passed away after being diagnosed with breast cancer two years earlier. “I learned that mourning someone, dealing with grief is something very personal,” Travolta told Esquire Mexico in 2021. “Your grief is different from another person’s journey.”
At the 2023 Oscars, Travolta showed us firsthand what grief could look like — and just how much he misses his dear friend Olivia Newton-John.
John Travolta remains ‘hopelessly devoted’ to his late friend
He has lost his son, his wife and his 2 leading ladies …. 😞
— Drops of Jupiter (@Karma_Farmer1) March 13, 2023
As John Travolta took the stage to introduce the “Oscars In Memoriam” segment, he delivered a powerful speech that moved him to tears. He started by recognizing the importance of honoring those who dedicated their lives to entertainment, acknowledging that it is a privilege for entertainers to pursue their passion. However, a few moments into his speech, the “Welcome Back, Kotter” star got visibly emotional as he specifically paid tribute to his late “Grease” co-star, Olivia Newton-John. He said, “Through their immeasurable contributions, each of them left an individual and indelible mark that shared and informed us. They’ve touched our hearts, they’ve made us smile, and became dear friends, who we will always remain hopelessly devoted to,” referencing Newton-John’s 1978 song “Hopelessly Devoted To You.”
Unsurprisingly, Travolta’s heartwarming tribute sparked reactions from fans, with many taking to Twitter to acknowledge the moment. “John Travolta really trying to make your boy tear up with his emotional Olivia Newton-John shout-out…Dammit,” one person wrote. “John Travolta choking on his words destroyed me. RIP Olivia Newton-John. Forever my Sandy,” a second tweeted.
Following her death in August 2022, Travolta paid a touching tribute to Newton-John, who acted as his love interest in the 1978 musical. “I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the moment I saw you and forever,” he wrote on Instagram.
